NICU Day 10 (Wednesday, Oct 3):
I woke up and called the NICU right at 7 to see who my nurse was going to be and have some input for Claire's day. Luckily, our nurse was Shanda again and we are very comfortable with her. I waited until I spoke with the receptionist at my doctors before heading to the NICU and scheduled my own doctor's appointment at 10:30. When I went in to have my incision looked at it turned out that it wasn't leaking blood but that it was leaking serous fluid in a few different places. When I was laying down and there was no pressure applied it wasn't doing anything - but every time she applied pressure the wound freely flowed. She said that it wasn't infected, swollen, red, or irritated however, she had some concerns about how it was looking and so she called over to the OB/GYN that actually performed the c-section and he wanted me to come and see him at 1:30.
I left the office feeling dejected and frustrated because I just didn't need one more thing to deal with. I was starving and drove through Chick-fil-A and ordered a sandwich, large fry, large drink, brownie, and a cookie and when I drove the window and it felt like the guy was looking to see if there was more than one person in my car - I thought - don't judge me, no there are not two people in my car - and yes I'm going to eat all of it because I'm feeling sorry for myself! After talking to Meghann and feeling a little less badly for myself I ran back over to the NICU to feed Claire before heading to my second doctors appointment.
He looked at the incision and said it was doing what it should. Because it bruised so badly it formed a hematoma and it needed a place to drain. If the incision hadn't opened he would have to cut it open so the fluid could vacate. Nice! So it will leak for the next 3-5 days while the hematoma drains and then the incision will re-close. As I was laying on the exam table I asked how long the horrible pain in my right side was going to last. I told him that I was still unable to get in and out of my bed and I can't lay on my right side at all. I also told him that everyone kept telling me it was gas pains from being opened, having my internal organs extracted, and then being put back together. He asked if I had the pain anywhere else - which I don't - and then he said "that doesn't seem right to me" referring to the gas pain, "it sounds like something else". And so, I am now scheduled for an ultra-sound appointment tomorrow morning to check on my gall bladder and liver (both of which are on the right). I am praying for it to be some random phantom pain associated with the C-section just so that I don't have anything else to deal with.
After my second doctor's appointment of the day I returned to the NICU to nurse again, went home for dinner and to play with Addison and put her to bed, and then returned to the NICU to spend the evening with Claire and Oliver. Here are some pictures from our day.
Claire with a new face.
A close-up of the PIC line.
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